YIDFF Network Special Screenings
The YIDFF Network is a volunteer group that was brought together for the inaugural YIDFF in 1989, as an initiative of Ogawa Shinsuke. Since that time, the group has continued to be active on a wide range of levels, including organizing twice-monthly screenings aimed at the general public called “Friday Theater.” Some volunteers have been involved in the selection process for the International Competition as well as past New Asian Currents and Japanese Panorama programs. They also undertake tasks related to the films, including reporting for, editing, and publishing the Daily Bulletin, issued for the duration of the Festival, as well as videotaping and photographing the proceedings. Recent years have seen growing involvement from students and those living outside Yamagata. YIDFF Network Special Screenings are organized for each Festival, with the intention of presenting films from the volunteers’ original perspectives. The works we will screen at this year’s festival are all new works by directors close to the YIDFF. Pride in Blue will be screened in collaboration with Cinema Blanc, a Yamagata group that independently screens films such as those about people with disabilities.
—Masuya Shuichi